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Words to Live By

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:22:19 +0000

You’ve got to seize the opportunity if it is presented to you.
Clive Davis

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

High expectations are the key to everything.

Sam Walton

In life and business, there are two cardinal sins.. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act at all.

Carl Icahn

And so, my fellow Americans.. Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.

John F. Kennedy

The price of greatness is responsibility.

Winston Churchill

Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.

Ray Kroc

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.

Albert Einstein

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Real Estate Blog Tips Series – Real Estate Marketing Coach Brandon Patrick Reveals How to Write Classified Ads for Sellers!

admin — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:08:37 +0000

Z101

Writing classified ads to secure seller leads is somewhat tougher than writing to secure buyer leads. But that’s not to say it can’t be done. It has been done, continues to be done… and, especially on the Internet (where your costs of minimal), it is most certainly worth your time.

The key to writing for sellers is to understand that people are persuaded to act either to avoid pain (be it emotional, physical, or spiritual) or to gain pleasure (be it real or anticipatory). So, with that in mind, we’ll want to design our ads to appeal to the sellers on this innate, emotional level. That is, we’ll want to push some emotional hot buttons. For example, this ad promises to move the potential buyer away from loss (a pain):

7 Big Homeseller Mistakes Which Cost You a Fortune
Which of these costly homeseller mistakes will you make

when you sell your home? You don’t have to make any! Call 555-1212

Here’s an example of moving towards pleasure (it addresses greed):

How to Sell Your Home for $3,000 to $7,000

More Than Your Neighbor! Free report reveal all.

See http://www.yourname.com

-or-

For Sale By Owners: Don’t even think about setting the price

for your home by looking in here. That’s the SECOND

biggest mistake you can make. Want to know the FIRST?

Call for your free homeseller report. 555-1212

XYZ Realty

If you’re looking for specific sellers in a specific area, simply add "qualifiers" to your ad like this:

South Carson — Sellers! New free online

report gives 10 Tips to Pocketing $5,447 or more

when you sell your home! Visit http://www.yourname.com/freerpt.htm

You get the idea. Now analyze each of these ads. Have we attracted the attention of potential sellers, have we grabbed their attention? What about the ads keep your interest? Have we stimulated a desire in you to want to know more about the information being advertised? And finally, what action must you take if you really want to know more?

Notice how all four elements are present in the ads. Recognize and understand the basic formula. Practice, and keep at it, over and over, every day until the formula, the idea, and the feel of this kind of ad writing becomes second nature to you. This is the ONLY WAY to gain expertise in writing good classified ads. And a GUARANTEED way to generate a number of highly responsive leads fast… both online and off!

Happy Selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

Real Estate Marketing Coach Brandon Patrick Shows You How to Sell $20 Million in Real Estate While Sitting at Home in Your Underwear!

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:03:32 +0000

First of all….I HATE this headline. I HATE promoting anything that discourages hard work. At the same time, it is funny how we see headlines like this every day in the real estate industry. The reason why we constantly see them is because everyone wants the "Magic Bullet"…..you know….the one that is "silver" and puts down the werewolf in the horror movies…(Hey….who wasn’t scared of the werewolf in Dark Shadows of the 60′s, the werewolf on Scooby Doo in the 70′s or The Howling in the early 80′s…..I spent alot of time hiding behind the couch from werewolves as a kid….)….the one bullet that is a hollow point that totally annihilates whatever it hits…..which is our problems…..again….EVERYONE wants the Magic Bullet. Unfortunately, these "Magic Bullets" rarely get us to where we want to go.

Hard, smart work is what takes us further. Life in general is not a bed of roses. It would be nice to think of that long lost rich uncle that will someday leave us a fortune, or that lottery ticket that will someday win, but nothing beats hard, smart work. I work hard. My buddy and Co-Founder of the Real Estate Toolbox University Brian Rodgers works hard. I cannot tell you the countless calls we make to each other every day, sometimes going into the late hours of night to bring you relevant information that will bring value to your business. We don’t sit on our butts doing nothing, and we don’t expect any less from you. We will continue to bring you the best information and insight to the real estate world, and your job is to utilize the wealth of knowledge. It is your decision………success in real estate and graduating with honors from the Real Estate Toolbox University, or "getting around to it later" in using this gift of marketing skills and flunking out. Flunking out means back to mediocre sales, or finding another career because you couldn’t make it in the business during hard times. Are you an eagle who soars to over 30,000 feet and is king of the air, soaring over the highest mountains, and when he gets hungry targets his kills, or are you a buzzard sitting in the trees living off the scraps of real estate roadkill? I, for one, believe you are here for a reason. I believe you are reading this because you are an eagle, or you want to be an eagle in training.

We have to realize that nothing worthwhile having is free or comes easily. If you do something half way, you don’t get halfway results……you get NO results. Real estate is hard…..life is hard. Hard, continuous, smart work will get you to where you want to go…..NO MAGIC BULLETS!

Now…….go over to your lessons at The Real Estate Toolbox University and study them…..make the lessons second nature…..apply what you learn. Make it a part of your business.

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

Real Estate Marketing Coach Brandon Patrick Discusses The Power of Headlines

admin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:47:19 +0000

R01

Your headline, or the first three to five words in your small classified ads, will make or break your advertising campaign. If you don’t capture the attention of your reader with your headline, anything beyond is useless effort and wasted money.

Successful headlines are often written as promises, either implied or direct. The former promises to show you how to save money, make money, or attain a desired goal. The latter is a warning against something undesirable. In other words… I promise to show you how to feel good about yourself (a pleasure) or I promise to show you how to keep yourself from getting in a wreck, losing money, and making a fool out of yourself (a pain).

A PROMISE: Sell Your Home in 90 Days or Less–Guaranteed!

A WARNING: 7 Reasons Most Homes Don’t Sell for Top $$!

Headlines that ask a question are also powerful. They seem to attract the reader’s attention almost as surely as a moth is drawn to a flame. Once he’s seen the question, he just can’t seem to keep himself from reading the rest of the ad to find out the answer.

The best headline questions are those that challenge the reader; that involve his self-esteem, and do not allow him to dismiss your question with a simple yes or no. For example:

What does your neighbor know

which makes his home worth

$3,000 to $9,000 more than yours?

Find out. Visit www.yourname.com Now.

"You’ll be the envy of your friends" is another appeal to incorporate into your headline whenever appropriate. This appeal works because everyone wants to be well thought of, and consequently, will read into the body of your ad to find out how she can gain the respect and accolades of her friends.

Wherever and whenever possible, use colloquialisms that are not usually found in advertisements. The idea is to shock or shake the reader out of his reverie and cause him to take notice of your ad. Most of the headlines you see day in and day out, have a certain sameness with just the words rearranged. The reader may see these headlines with his eyes, but his
brain fails to focus on any of them because there’s nothing different or out of the ordinary to arrest his attention. And if you don’t capture your reader’s attention… the game is over before it even had a chance to begin.

Example: Is your home HAUNTED? Is the ghost of 1970 style real estate marketing preventing your home from selling? Find out before it’s to late.

"How To" headlines have a very strong basic appeal.

"Who Else wants to know" is another approach with a very strong reader appeal. The psychology here being the need of everyone to belong to a group – complete with status and prestige motivations.

Whenever, and as often as you can possibly work it in, you should use the word "you" in your headline, and throughout your copy. After all, your ad should be directed to "one" person, and the person reading your ad wants to feel that you’re talking to him personally, not everyone who lives on his street.

Personalize, and be specific! You can throw the teachings of your English teachers out the window, and the rules of "third person, singular" or whatever else tends to inhibit your writing. Whenever you sit down to write advertising copy intended to generate leads… you should picture yourself in a one-on-one situation and "talk" to your reader just as if you sitting across from him at your dining room table. Say what you mean, and sell HER on the value of your offering. Be specific and ask her if these are the things that bother her – are these the things she wants – and she’s the one you want to provide a solution for.

Happy Selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

7 Ways to Leverage Your Real Estate Earnings (Part 2) – Real Estate Marketing Coach Brandon Patrick

admin — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:11:48 +0000

5. Understand communications technology and use it

High speed internet, laptops, cell phones, PDA’s, text messaging and call capture systems (800#’s). The best system that we have found is Adtrakker ( www.adhotline.net/58419 ). Modern technology at its finest. And perfect devices you can use to leverage your time and income. For example, we use call capture systems to:

· Generate leads for both buyers and sellers

· Answer all calls from these lead sources

· Deliver an educational and benefit laden message to all callers

· Soft qualifies all callers

· Answers the same questions asked by most callers

· Guides callers into the next step in the marketing sequence

· Requests and records callers name, address and phone number

· Requests caller to make a direct call into the office

· Send Fax Back brochures of a property of special report to a potential client

We also use call capture systems to:

· Provide an audio brochure of our listing inventory

· Provide a "seller’s update" service eliminating the need for personal calls

· Provide a "FSBO Helpline" which educates and helps generate leads

We use modems and faxes to request lender information, property specs, and referrals. We use cell phones to make calls, check email and utilize text messages while on the road. We use cell phones as "announcement" devices letting us know when our internet site has received a response, when an ad has been called upon, and when a potential buyer has called on a property ad.

Use modern communications technology to leverage your time and efforts. Take a look at what’s available and think about how you could best use it. And, I promise you, you’ll be amazed and what you can get done… easier, faster, and with less headache and hassle.

6. Develop a local top-producer network

One agent I know absolutely refuses to work with sellers. Another absolutely refuses to work with buyers. I’ve asked both what they do with their "unwanted" leads and referrals. Their answers: "Nothing." Oh, gee… that’s a brilliant, money-making answer! One thing’s for sure… it’s your ticket to leveraging your time, money and income potential. For example, one small-town California agent I know uses her top-producer network to generate over $500,000 a year in extra commissions by simply referring all her soon to be expired listings out to her competition. By giving them permission to solicit these soon to be expireds… chances are very good they will be relisted and sold. When they are, she gets a paid 25-30% referral fee. Money she would not have seen otherwise! In return, she too takes listings which were referred to her, earning 70-75% of her normal commission which she gets with very little (if any) competition!

Set up a fax-back system, or internet system to gain valuable feedback concerning your listings.

Set up new "listing announcement" system. Either fax or email or have delivered all of your new listings to your top producer network. Have them do likewise.

Expand your network globally. Get yourself listed on numerous "referral" programs. Develop a network of "non-competitive" professionals and meet with them once a week or so for the sole-purpose of lead generation. You get leads for moving companies and you give them away. They get leads for your services and they give them to you. What a deal!

7. Think systems

"Go to work ON your business rather than IN it,

and ask yourself the following questions:

1. How can I get my business to work, but without me?

2. How can I get my people to work, but without my constant interference?

3. How can I systematize my business in such a way that it could be replicated 5,000 times, so the 5,000th unit would run as smoothly as the first?

4. How can I own the business, and still be free of it?

5. How can I spend my time doing the work I love to do, rather than the work I have to do?"

—Michael E. Gerber in his book, The E Myth.

Real Estate. It’s the career you love to hate.

You love the money and freedom real estate represents. But you know what?

Statistically you are doomed to fail. And you know it.

That’s why you have a love/hate relationship with the industry. You love the opportunity real estate represents, but you hate the thought of potential failure. The thought that it might all come to an end someday; the phone will stop ringing; your calls will stop being received; the market will take a nose dive right into the toilet…

When you chose real estate as your means to financial success… you set the stage for a play wherein there are only two roles—Heel or Hero.

The attrition rate in the real estate industry is even worse!Statistics tell us that if 60 individuals apply to take a prelicensing course, only 50 will complete the course. 32 will pass the exam on their first attempt. 25 will sign up with a local broker.

Of the 25 who enter the business, most will earn less than $24,000 a year. One will make over $75,000 their first year.

Five years from licensure, only 2 or 3 will still be in the business. Now, let’s see. By my count, that’s 57 "heels" for every 3 "heroes."

Now I don’t quote the stats to discourage you, but rather to introduce a key distinction you must make if you ever hope to make it big in this business…

You need to create and maintain the mind set you are in business.

Successful real estate professionals are not hobbyists. They have not embraced a career, or a part-time venture. They have decided to go into business, and they engineer their day-to-day activities in such a way as to work ON their businesses versus IN their businesses. And that is the key to their success.

Most agents and brokers (remember… most will fail or, at best, produce mediocre results year after year after year) arise every morning in search of the "deal". They spend their time seeking out new prospects, do their best to secure that business, finalize the sale… and go on to the next sale, the next deal. In other words, they spend the majority of their time working in their businesses!

They do all the prospecting. They place their own ads. Conduct their own open houses, complete their own paperwork, receive all calls, do all their own qualifying, interviewing, driving, showing, picture taking, sign placements, mls postings, mailings, and escrow closings. They do it all. And they’re good at it. They’ve mastered in the fundamentals, the nuts and bolts of the business… and, most will fail. Miserably.

The successful real estate professional, on the other hand, wakes up in the morning and goes about the business of creating a business. A big business. The "deal" is just one element of many—and not necessarily the most important.

The goal isn’t to secure a new deal… the goal is to create an enterprise, an equity-based business that can 1) run profitably independent of your efforts, 2) provide the means of an early retirement if that is what you want—a perpetual money machine, or 3) a salable business.

The successful real estate professional may work in their business when necessary, but their primary emphasis is working on their businesses—on the creation of viable, hugely profitable enterprise.

Key Distinction: Your business in not your life.

Your real estate career, your business, if you want it to succeed in a huge way… at its best, should be viewed as distinctly apart from you. Your business and your life are two totally separate things.

You, as an individual, will live and die according to how well you maintain your health, avoid accidents and disease. Your lifestyle will be determined by how much income you generate and how much free time you have available to enjoy the benefits of your income.

Your business will live and die according to how well it performs its one and only function: to find, satisfy, and keep customers. Your life is not our business. You do not live to serve your business; your business lives to serve your life. You have to make this key distinction, this "separation" if you ever hope to propel your business beyond your capabilities.

So, just how do you go about working ON your business versus working IN your business? How are you going to create systems… the ultimate in leverage?

Imagine you are given the assignment to create a hugely profitable real estate franchise. A turn-key operation. In other words, your task is to create a business that not only works, but is also 100% duplicable by anybody. An "out-of-the box" salable business. Plug it in and it works.

Not sometimes. Always. Without fail.

And remember… you won’t be there to run the show! You won’t be there to do all the work! The business model you create must be 100% duplicable… without your interference in any way, shape, or form.

Here are some more "rules" you should need to follow as you create your winning, duplicable business:

1. Your business model will provide consistent value to everyone directly or indirectly touched by it, its products and/or services. Your goal is not to provide outstanding service but, rather, ASTOUNDING service.

2. Your business will operate efficiently and effectively by people with the lowest level of skill and monetary requirements. Your $12-an-hour office manager should not be employed in a $6-an-hour telemarketing job. Likewise, if your $6-an-hour telemarketing personnel is capable of reproducing a press release, stuffing a few envelopes and mailing… why on earth would you even consider hiring super expensive PR agency to do the same thing?

3. Your business will be organized to the hilt. Sloppy habits make for a sloppily run business. There is not order to be found within the chaos as far as your duplicable business is concerned.

4. Every job, duty, and operating procedure will be formally documented in an Operations Manual. Remember your primary goal is to create a duplicable, "out-of-the-box" business. Everything must be organized, systemized, and documented so anyone who can read and follow simple instructions and do what you’ve determined needs to be done.

5. Your successful business will provide consistent, predicable results. Not sometimes. Not just when the market is good. Always. No excuses.

Leverage yourself. Think systems. Think how you can "sell in bunches."

Happy selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

7 Ways to Leverage Your Real Estate Earnings (Part 1) – Real Estate marketng Coach Brandon Patrick

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:25:09 +0000

01"Richer is the man earning 1% of the efforts of a 100 men than 100% of his own efforts."

—J. Paul Getty

It really doesn’t matter where you find yourself today—doing 3 deals a year or 200—if you are the sole catalyst for your production, if it is primarily your efforts creating whatever level of business you’re currently enjoying… you are working IN your business and, eventually, are doomed to either peak out or, worse, burn out.

The problem is, there are only 24 hours in a day. And if you are trading your time for dollars… which you are doing when you work IN your business versus ON your business… you have placed a serious limitation upon your earning capacity.

Not to mention the fact that to earn it (whatever it is), you will often find yourself working sixty, seventy, even eighty hours per week. And, you can’t take time off! If you do… your production, your business suffers. Your income suffers. Your lifestyle suffers.

If such is the case, I can assure you… career burnout is just around the corner. It took me over five years of working IN my business (five years of being bored, beat-up and broke!) to finally realize that the "rewards" simply weren’t worth all the time, hassle, and expense of creating them. I mean, what good is being a multi million dollar producer and pocketing a few thousand bucks when you don’t have a life apart from the business to enjoy it?

Key distinction: Leverage allows you to multiply your efforts, time, and energy which means multiplied income and time to enjoy it.

Ideally,your goal is to convert your existing business—or the one you are about to create—into a perfectly organized model for thousands more just like it. In other words, most profitable way to view and build your business is in with the creation of a "franchise" in mind. And that means you either have to have a thousand yous available to work in each and every one of those businesses… or discover a way to "clone" your work and have this clone (your systems) keep on working for you… even while you’re out playing life somewhere.

Of course, this is the ideal situation, albeit a difficult one to achieve. So while you’re striving towards that end… focus on leveraging yourself…

Leverage is utilizing assets (people, time, money, connections, systems, knowledge, family, strategic alliances) to get the maximum return, results, and rewards with the minimum risk, effort or investment.

Becoming a listing agent is a classic example of the power of multiplying yourself and your efforts through leverage.

You build an inventory listing by listing. No leverage there. However, any one (or all!) of those listings can be sold—and income generated—for you and your business… totally independent of your efforts. That’s leverage.

Proper leveraging doesn’t mean you spend hours knocking on every door within a housing complex to introduce yourself and your services… it means you spend a few minutes contacting the Home Owners Association and arranging to give a free speech at their next meeting… sharing your benefit-rich wealth of knowledge with dozens, even hundreds of potential prospects all at once.

Instead of doing everything yourself or hiring just one assistant to take up the slack, proper leveraging means hiring specific people to perform specific tasks and then constantly upgrading… just like a professional sports team.

Smart leveraging means writing any letter or communication once, maintaining it in an electronic data base, and simply merging your next client’s name and address into the copy the next time the same situation arises.

Leveraging your marketing capital mean placing your name, face, and benefit-rich message at every ingress and egress of a targeted neighborhood via inexpensive bus bench advertising—reaching hundreds, even thousands of the right people every single day, 365 days of the year… versus spending the same money on 2,500 super expensive 4-color personal brochures which can only serve you but once…

Proper leveraging means you receive one inbound call from a potential buyer… record your qualifying sequence of questions… transcribe the recording… and have all other inbound calls received by your assistant who follows your documented qualifying sequence. Your time is thus freed to work ON your business so you can then find even more leveraging opportunities.

Instead of purchasing one large congratulatory gift for your happily involved clients… the smart marketer leverages goodwill by purchasing a half dozen smaller, but uniquely personal gifts which are delivered once a month… ensuring their name, face, and occupation is kept in front of their past clients.

Proper leveraging means you make your best sales, pricing, and "here’s what I and my team of specialists will do to get your home sold… fast, and with the least amount of hassle" presentation once… on video tape and/or written down and published in a brief, informative yet entertaining manual… and distribute it to every prospect before your appointments. You let your "clone" do all the selling, convincing, reasoning, and cajoling for you before you even arrive—not only cutting your actual, in-person presentations down to less than 30 minutes, but increasing your "closing" percentages as well…

Effective leveraging means using both sides of your house brochures… one side to extol the virtues of the particular house in question… the other to list every single one of your listings… to make an incredible FREE offer compelling them to pick up the phone or stop by your office to take advantage of it… to offer a series of testimonials from a number of your previous clients…

Let’s take a look a seven specific areas you need to address to create maximum leverage of both your time and your income:

1. Computerize

Of course, I am sure you already have a personal computer or laptop (better yet….a tablet pc!) and know how to use it. If not, may I suggest you get with the program…

Properly used, a computer will provide you will a multitude of opportunities to leverage your time and assets. You will discover a number of ways you can reach more people faster, more economically, and with less hesitation about what to do and when. Specifically, a computer is of the utmost importance for the following reasons:

· It stores information

· It sorts information

· It performs routine tasks automatically

· It enables you to personalize your marketing materials and emphasizes your client-centered, benefit-rich approach to the business.

Your computer, ideally, should be able to assist you in the following essential tasks of your real estate business:

· Design your marketing campaigns

· Develop your own proprietary education products (free reports, etc.)

· Help you acquire already created products from others

· Actually do your marketing for you (i.e., the internet)

· Provide routine management services (escrow tracking, price reduction campaigns, seller updates, buyer updates)

Your computer should be minimally equipped with a good contact management system to track all your leads, clients and referrals. I recommend www.busyagentpro.com . It should include a "to-do" list function and a calendar, scheduling function. It should have a good word processor integrated with your contact management system. And it should have a good "marketing oriented" system. A tracking function, spread-sheet program like Microsoft Excel is preferred.

2. Plan and strategize

Your time is valuable and you should make it a point to take the time to plan how best to use your available time. Take at least a half hour at the end of every day to plan your next day. Prioritize. How? How yourself this these questions:

· What MUST I accomplish tomorrow?

· What SHOULD I accomplish tomorrow?

· What is the most important thing I can do tomorrow?

Schedule the ‘musts’ first. Then schedule the ‘most important things’ next. And if, if, you have time left… go forward with your shoulds.

Now don’t gloss over this section. Marketing, after all, is only comprised of two components: planning and execution. Too many would be marketers, in their haste to get something done, completely by-pass the planning stage and… chances are… get so caught up "working for the sake of work" they get nothing valuable done. Don’t fall victim to this tragic error. Plan your work then work your plan.

3. Make marketing your highest of priorities

You don’t make any money by prospecting. You don’t earn a single commission from filling out contracts. You don’t earn a dime from understanding agency rules and regulations. And you certainly don’t earn a dime from by sitting at your desk wondering where your next commission check is going to come from.You only make money when you put yourself in a position to make money… when you’ve created the situation wherein you find yourself face-to-face with a buyer or seller who is willing and able to conduct business with you now!

That’s it. So if you want to leverage your time and assets to best propel you towards the fortune you want and deserve, you need to focus first and foremost of marketing. All facets: Lead generation, Conversion, Presentations, Materials, Follow up sequences, fulfillment, education and referral generation.

First and foremost, concentrate in developing an automatic lead-generation system which works consistently and predicable.

· Study targeted, emotional response marketing

· Learn how to use the classifieds for lead generation

· Combine image and response ads for display advertising

· Learn how to use free publicity

· Learn how to generate referrals

· Locate and utilize areas of marketing which are constant (i.e., bus benches, airport signs, billboards, signs in public restrooms, etc.)

4. Hire assistants

Again, let me ask you: Do you make any money for addressing postcards and affixing stamps to be delivered to your "Just-Listed" file of neighbors? Do you get paid for holding an open-house? Do you get paid for assembling all the information you need to deliver a solid, benefit-laden pre-sell package to either buyer or seller? Do you get paid to track your escrows? Write follow up letters to your clients?

No. So why are you doing all this "busy work" which only serves to eat up your time? Why are you still making cold calls to expires when you could hire someone else to do the same thing for about $6 an hour?

Point made, I hope. Your time is far to valuable to be wasted in carrying out the systems you’ve designed to make your business work. Simply train people to work the systems. In fact, as quiet as it’s kept, you cannot afford to be without assistants or professional affiliates to help you complete the busy work of your business.

To be continued…..

Happy selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

Time Management and Personal Organizational Systems for Real Estate – Real Estate Coaching Tip Series

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:47:48 +0000

Time Management and
Personal Organizational Systems

The #1 Rule of Real Estate Time Management

It’s not how much time you have, It’s how you spend that time that matters!

Steps for Developing A Personal & Business Organizational System

Step #1. Create & follow a business plan

Evaluate prior year source of business
Establish Written Objectives
Strategies to reach each objective
Action steps (Who, What, When)
Plan for “what if”
Plan for business cycles
Schedule regular business plan review

Step #2. Create a Missing Statement

Identify the customers to be served
Services to be provided
Method services are delivered
Philosophical statement of beliefs

Step #3. Utilize a Day Planner & Calendar System to schedule all yearly & monthly Activity

Personal Items
Vacations
Birthdays
Anniversaries
School schedules
Children’s schedules
Administrative Items
Ad due dates
Company & office meetings
Education & convention dates
Income Generating Items
Floor Schedule
Next 6 planned mailings
Sphere of influence contacts
Regularly scheduled telephone prospecting
Regularly scheduled telephone follow-up
Servicing and Maintenance Items
Schedule for contacting clients
Schedule for reviewing open transactions
Update market analysis existing listings

Step #4. Utilize a List of Things to do Today

Spend 30 minutes every am or p.m.
List everything you need & want to do
Use an ABC system of prioritizing

A-Action Now
B-Before the day is over
C-Can Wait
D-Delegate to someone else
How much is your time worth?
Can’t make $50,000 at $5.00 hr

Mandatory Time Block Everyday

2 hours per day High Impact prospecting
1 hour per day Lead & Client follow-up

Do what you DO NOT want to do first & Do what you want to do last

Always finish what you start

Step #5. Master the Time Wasters

Telephone Tips
Don’t give out home or celluar number
Take and Return calls only at certain times
Keep your per call average to 3 minutes
Review objectives of a call before it’s made
Hold calls for at least 1 hour everyday
Leave messages that don’t require call back
Client Control
Learn to say NO
Give clients a list of their responsibilities
Send faxes or notes instead of phone calls
Qualify and counsel early
Improve your listing presentation
Price listings right from the start
Tell sellers when you will “contact” them
All clients come to office for signatures
Best Time Management Tips
Have all clients come to the office
Develop preprinted note cards
(Congratulations, Thinking of You, etc)
Use list of questions for all appointment
Take notes with all customers & clients
Start appointments 15 & 45 minutes after
Put fax machine in long distance listings
Create sets of labels for repetitive mailings
Leave yourself reminder notes
Always leave time for the unexpected
Plan errands around your daily travels
Throw things away a lot
Go to the office the same time each day
Use postcards to send quick notes
Do paperwork in “off peak” hours
Don’t allow people to waste your time
Schedule once a week to do “C” tasks
Respond to notes & letters on the original
Step #6. Use Modern Techniques and Technology

Put a new computer in your house or office
Use contact management software
Hook up to MLS at home
Get connected to the inter-net
Put a fax machine in your house
Get a phone with caller ID feature
Use the cassette player in your car to learn
Get a celluar phone
Get a laptop computer w/wireless modem
Use a micro cassette recorder to take notes
Use a remote call forwarding system
Automate your mailing process

Step #7. Allocate Your Time

1/3 of each working day SERVICING existing business

1/3 of each working day SELLING (Getting existing prospects to say yes)

1/3 DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS

Real Estate Marketing Tips Series – Working Expired Listings With The Real Estate Coach

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:31:30 +0000

Expired listing Tips part 2 by The Real Estate Coach

Here are the top four objections you will hear from expired listing sellers.

* We want to wait a while.
* We are going to list with our current agent.
* He/she is a friend or relative.
* We are going to try by owner for a while.

I will give you the scripts I use to overcome these objections in a future post.

Top Producer Tip of the week by Pat Guttery Baton Rouge, LA

* Pat does very well with keeping his advertising cost low, by running a one page ad in the Homes Magazine. He puts 4-5 indoor pictures of each home on his web site, his ad drives potential homebuyers straight to his web site. There they can at there leisure learn about Pat, see his listings inside and out. Pat uses his web site as a pre-sell package for him and he contributes 35% of his business to his web site that costs him a whopping $10.00 per month to operate.
* Pat runs a very efficient business, he closed 52 transactions last year, without an assistant, working with buyers, no weekends, and under forty-five hours a week, and he makes a six-digit salary on top of all of that. Not bad Huh?

If you have any questions about these quick tips please e-mail me or post your comments.

I hope these tips were helpful

See Ya Next week

Brian Rodgers
Real Estate Marketing Systems

P.S. If you have a good idea that you would like to share, I would love to hear it! Just email me.

The Real Estate Coach Develops Simple $100 Dollar Real Estate Marketing System That Produces $18,870 in less than a year

admin — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:11:26 +0000

I wanted to post this while it was fresh on my mind. I was having a conversation with long time BAP member Jim Davis. Jim has been a very, very successful agent over the years, in fact, he has been one of the top and many years the top Realty Executives Agent in The Midwest.

Jim has been using my marketing strategies, tweaked for his personality for many years. In fact, he was one of the first people to use my methods to compete against me in the same market, which was a lot of fun for several years before we actually became business partners:)

Anyway, every time Jim’s business slows down a bit he visits BAP and goes to the well for a shot of something new to put into his marketing mix. Let me re-state that, he actually calls me up and says, Brian, what is working right now, I need to do something.

Well, normally, I look to the last trackable transaction that I generated which was likely that day or a few days before and tell him the system that was used. Well, this past week, he called and I told him about a strategy I had used this year to generate 3 additional transactions and a whole lot of exposure and goodwill with really little to no work other than a few conversations and printing up some fliers.

He just looked at me and said “You have some incredible systems that produce big results, but you also have all these “little” things you do that really adds up when you look at your overall numbers”

So, this got me to thinking that I have so many “little” things going on in my lead generation efforts that it isn’t always possible to post everything at BAP.

So, a few weeks ago, several people expressed interest in paying a little extra on their BAP membership to get on my actual mailing list to receive exactly what my prospects, COI and past customers receive from me on a weekly basis and I am going to make sure that happens.

But, it occured to me that I need to start posting some of these little systems in my business that bring in a few transactions a year, with not too much effort. So, with that said, I will be posting some of these little systems, complete with exactly how I set them up, how I executed them and the exact results achieved.

These will not be posted on a regular schedule but will show up from time to time starting with a little system that I have mentioned above and I actually mentioned at the beginning of the year on this very forum. I would be curious to know if anyone actually acted on that discussion that took place in this very forum earlier in the year about this one little system.

This one little system produced 3 transactions for me this year with a volume of $629,000 and $18,870 GCI.

Now, these aren’t huge numbers but I spent a total of $100 the entire year to implement this little system.

To Learn all about this little system and many others that I use in my business everyday visit this site: http://www.busyagentpro.com

The Real Estate Coach Explains How To Use This Blog to Improve The Marketing of Your Real Estate Business and Systems

admin — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:47:52 +0000

Let me ask you a quick question.

What is the main propellant of practically any business — the mechanism that keeps it alive and thriving?

Marketing

If that was your answer….good for you. We’re off to a good start. It means that you’re one of the few people in our industry today who understands this fundamental truth.

Marketing is the groundwork for every business. After all, marketing is getting people to try your service, getting them to buy over and over, and getting them to buy higher dollar amounts as well as refer their friends and family to you. Marketing includes sales, advertising, pr and a bunch of other things that aren’t so apparent. Without marketing, you have nothing, you have no customers. And with no customers, you have no business.

You see, marketing is the lifeblood of a business. It can make it or break it. It’s THE most important part. Yet it’s the least understood and the least used part of the business. Doesn’t make sense to me…does it to you?

It is more important now than ever in our industry with these competitive times. You’ve got to have an edge to compete with consolidators, utilities and the rest of the big boys. You’ve got to have an edge or you won’t survive.

The more I work with real estate agents and study their business and our industry and how you can stay ahead in these very competitive times, the more I’m convinced it boils down to one principle — marketing.

A Marketing Tune-up

Lets make sure you’re getting new customers coming in, old customers coming back, and customers purchasing higher dollar amounts.

I’m going to teach you the simple fundamentals of marketing — easy (almost secret) marketing techniques that make a lot of money. After all, you can do all sorts of billboards, radio and T.V. 4-color postcards and other traditional marketing, but if you ignore the basics, the money just won’t come that easily.

So, new or old marketing, we’re going to get back to the basics. Lets put basic marketing into place (if it isn’t already). If it is in place, lets refine it into a profit machine.

You’re going to learn Profit Strategies to outmaneuver your competitors and gain market share.

You’ll learn how to leverage —use the assets you already possess —to increase your profits in multiples.

You’ll learn that growing your business shouldn’t be stressful or scary. It should be a fun and exciting time to look at what you can accomplish. It’s a time to have a little fun, be a little nontraditional in your thinking.

You’ll blow your competition away. How do I know this? Because only 1 out of 100,000 Realtors know the dynamic marketing Profit Strategies I have been and will continue teaching you throughout this blog — Profit Strategies that can increase your profits up to 20 times over—that’s 2,000% growth!

By the time I’m done with you, you’ll have learned hundreds of Profit Strategies that will give your business stability and growth, a continuously renewable cash flow, and the opportunity to crush your competition and become an industry leader.

It really seems far-fetched I know. But maybe you’re fired up right now just thinking about it. You should be….I am. It’s real alright. Trust me here. Your soon going to see the most simple, yet the most powerful, money-making Profit Strategies that will skyrocket your business. They may even be ideas which you think are obvious to everyone — but they aren’t. Only a very few know and understand them — and even fewer actually implement them. I happen to be one of them. My clients are some of the other few in this industry. I’m going to show you not only how to keep your business alive and thriving, but how to bring it to the forefront of this industry. That’s what you want, isn’t it?

Keep reading this blog and you will have your eyes opened to a whole new way of running a successful real estate business.